


Bruised but not broken

by IH8DaFourthWall



Category: SEAL Team - Fandom
Genre: Anxiety, Depression, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Self-Harm
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-22 22:01:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30045411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IH8DaFourthWall/pseuds/IH8DaFourthWall
Summary: Caitlin-Jane Wrigley more commonly known as "CJ" or "Wriggles" to her closest friends, is a girl fluent in 32 languages, 17 forms of martial arts, has a 4.0 GPA and is an all around badass until she gets abused by an orphanage owner whilst waiting for her fathers will to be finalised, she finds herself in the custody of the U.S Navy. Or more specifically the legendary DEVGRU bravo team.------TW: Panic attacks, Anxiety, Self-harm, Abuse------Hi, I don't really have an update schedule for this book, I'll add to it whenever I get inspiration too or I get a request to add to it. This book is also posted on Wattpad and my handle is the same there.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 11





	1. Pt.1 CJ’s file

Name: Catlin-Jane Wriggley

DOB: January 9 2007

Age: 14 years old

Gender: Female

Current Place Of Education: N/A

Current Guardian: State of Virginia

Mother: Maria Alexandra Wriggley  
Status: Deceased  
Father: Lt. Commander James Nathan Wriggley  
Status: Deceased  
Grandparents: Anna Wriggley, Jack Wriggley, Sarah Carter, Micheal Carter  
Status: Deceased, Deceased, Deceased, Deceased  
Aunt(s): N/A  
Status: N/A  
Uncle(s): N/A  
Status: N/A

Foreign Languages Spoken:  
-Arabic  
-Russian  
-Javanese  
-Portuguese  
-Indonesian  
-Iranian Persian  
-Korean  
-Urdu  
-German  
-Telugu  
-Japanese  
-French  
-Polish  
-Spanish  
-Italian  
-Marithi  
-Mandarin  
-Hindi  
-Pashto  
-Turkish  
-Uzbek  
-Kurdish  
-Hebrew  
-Greek  
-Farsi  
-Persian  
-Welsh  
-Western Punjabi  
-Danish  
-Norweigan  
-Swedish  
-Bengali

School:  
Status: Expelled  
Reason for Expulsion: Fighting, Disrespect, Swearing, Failure to attend Detentions  
-4.0 GPA  
-Former Sophmore at 'Virginia Beach High'  
-Playedon the Football, Rugby, Hockey and Track teams  
-Former member of the debate, computer science and academic decathlon clubs

Skills:  
-Trained in Taekwondo, Judo, Kickboxing, Karate, Jujutsu, Aikido, Muay Thai, Tai Chi, Tang soo do, Krav Maga, Kung Fu, Araki Ryu, Bajiquan, Bando, Boxing, Fencing  
-Skilled in hand-to-hand combat  
-Fully firearms trained and certified  
-Basic medical training  
-Hacking/ computer science  
-Translator  
-Athletic build, Fast, Agile  
-Trained by Rangers in multiple areas of combat  
-Archery

Preferred weapon: Knife

Medical History:  
-PTSD  
-Anxiety  
-Depression  
-Insomnia  
-Panic Attacks  
-ADHD  
Medication? Yes to all of the listed above

Notes:  
-Currently in foster care  
-Does not trust new people easily  
-History of abusive foster homes  
-Shy and quiet  
-Short temper


	2. Pt.2 The team

Third person POV

Jason and Bravo were sitting in the cave waiting for Blackburn to arrive with their new strap, a translator. The only information they had received was that they had no say in the placement, that alone raised red flags with the team. Every strap was replaceable and if they didnt fit in with the team or couldnt pull their weight they were booted there and then, simple as that. But somehow they knew this was not going to be quite so easy...

Unsure looks were thrown around the room between the operators, not knowing what to expect or how to prepare. It was unnatural for the team not to have a plan, they usually mapped out every detail of a mission, everything that could go wrong they were ready for, but this, they were going in blind.

30 minutes later

Mandy and Lisa walk into the cave and looked at the scene before them. 5 highly trained tier 1 operators playing paper football, and Trent nursing Clay's paper cut. Mandy rolled her eyes and Lisa just laughed. This caught the attention of all the people in the room. Jason was the first to speak up, 

"Mandy, Lisa" he acknowledged them, "not that we dont love spending time with you guys we do-"

Mandy cut him off, "-you want to know why you've been waiting so long? And why you've had no information on the new strap?"

"Well yeah." Sonny spoke up shrugging his shoulders.

Lisa answered Mandy's previous questions for the team "You have been waiting this long because Blackburn had to go and collect this new strap, and the information? We're going to give you that. Now."

Mandy continued for her handing out personnel files to every member of the team "The straps qualifications are in there, everything you need to know is there."

Brock, who had been silent the whole time, made his presence known "Half of this has been redacted, Name, Age, DOB, Education level, Medical History, Family, even the personal notes, we don't even get their damn gender. The only things we can read are the languages they speak and their skills, don't get me wrong for a strap this is pretty impressive, but why can't we see the rest of the file?"

The two women shared a nervous glance, but Lisa spoke up first, "The rest of that information is on a need to know Brock, some of it will become clear when you meet, but the rest is up to them to tell you in their own time." 

Ray spoke up "Why don't we need to know? We are putting our lives in the hands of this person, their abilities to translate and their ability to hold their own in the field, we need to know more than their qualifications on paper."

Everone nodded their heads in agreement with their Bravo 2, Lisa looked to Mandy for guidance as even she was unsure of what to do, she had only read the file herself a few hours ago and she had the same questions as Bravo, except she got answers, Bravo weren't. At least not any time soon. Mandy sighed and looked at the operaters after a few minutes of silence she spoke up, 

"This is all the information you are going to get for now, I know that's not what you want to hear but that's all i got. These orders came from washington," she paused to allow the groans and complains to die down then continued, "So I suggest you stop with the questions for now and wait for Blackburn to arrive." 

She spoke with finality and confidence this time ensuring they knew the conversation was over. Bravo looked away and back to the file infront of them and conversed about the straps abilities,

"She's got the language base covered, any she doesn't speak I do," Clay said.

"Yeah kids got a point." Trent nodded in agreement.

"Persons fighting abilities are impressive, alot more extensively trained and experienced than some of our other straps." Spoke Brock who was sitting with Cerb in his lap.

"I dont know why we're discussing this the decision isn't up to us it's up to the cake eaters in Washington, who for some reason feel it's not important for us to have information on a member of our support staff, but that's beside the point. So why don't we instead of sitting here discussing the strap talk about how we're going to get some more information about them." Jason suggested.

The room went silent at the master chiefs words and they began thinking about how to get information on their new strap.

1 hour later

The door opened and everyone stopped talking and looked up to see Blackburn standing in the doorway. He walked into the cave and stood in front of his operators, alone, "I know you're wondering what is going on, I'm going to tell you. But before i say anything understand that this is not up for debate and this was not my decision, OK?"

Nods of aggreement were heard throughout the room and he took a minute before continuing,

"You're straps name is Cautlin-Jane Wriggley, she goes by CJ, she is apparently one of the best translator we'll ever meet and has been trained by the best of the best in hand-to-hand," he paused and took a breath looking at each member of the team, "She is wary of new people and has a... shall we say history, with men, so she may take a while to warm up to you guys, if at all. But from her recommendations and speaking with her handler and social worker she's 100% worth the time."

Gasps and shouts echoed throughout the room and Eric immediately knew he had said too much, he went to speak but Jason spoke up first, 

"JESUS CHRIST BLACKBURN!" He yelled, he took a second to compose himself and his face softened at the thought of the kid, "How old is she..?"

Blackburn ran his hands down his face and mumbled "14..."

Outrage was present in the room as Ray looked at Jason knowing if he spoke he would say something he'd regret, so he took charge as Bravo 2 and kept his head,

"How can we put our lives in the hands of someone who is young enough to be clay's daughter? Scratch that, how do we go into the field knowing we're putting her life at risk everytime we step off that plane? What would we do if she died? Kidnapped... or worse? We cant put a kid through that kind of trauma! She's 14 for God's sake!"

Blackburn looked at the team and simply said, "The people on the hill see this girl as a highly valued military asset, and even if we don't agree, they've apparently thought this through so we don't have a choice." Then he turned to Ray and adressed him directly choosing his next words carefully, "She has been through more than you could imagine and she is a lot stronger than you think."

The whole room was confused at what those last words meant before Clay asked quietly a faint smile grazing his lips,

"Can we meet her...?" 

Blackburn nodded and told the team he'd be right back with her, as he was about to walk out the door he turned back to them and said quietly "Be kind to her."


	3. Pt.3 CJ’s PTSD

Eric's POV  
I walked out of the cave and out too the meeting room where i had left CJ thinking about everything that she has been through, and wondering what I don't know about. I mean, I know about the abuse and about her parents deaths but i still feel like she's hiding something. 

I walked into the room and she had her forehead laying on the table arms crossed above her head , I hadn't really noticed when I picked her up last night because it was dark but she looks awful. She sat up and I took in the full extent of the damage, her clothes were baggy and she was skin and bones, most likely malnourishment, she face was pale and she had bags under her eyes, she had a split lip and her forehead was bruised, and that was just what i could see. The doctors said she had scars on her back and stomach and some broken ribs, I just wondered how nobody noticed. Or even worse did they notice and just not care?

I walked up to her and realised her eyes had glossed over and she was staring into space. I crouched down in front of her and tucked a piece of her auburn hair behind her ear, I rested my hand on her shoulder drawing soothing circles, trying to bring her back from whatever was happening and whispered,

"Hey CJ, I have some people I'd like you to meet." No response.

CJ POV  
Eric had left me alone in the meeting room so he could go and talk to someone, I didn't really know what was going on, all i knew was that there was something in my fathers will that said where i was to go if he died. He's been gone for so long I almost forgot that I wasn't supposed to be in that dreadful orphanage I was meant to be somewhere else but there was a problem so I was placed in 'temporary' foster care, it's been 2 years.

Flashback  
I couldn't take it any more I was in pain all the time, I winced everytime I moved and people were starting to pick up on it. I always said I had been hurt at practice, I played on the school rugby, football and hockey teams, so everybody believed me. Mr Olsen could never stop me from playing sports as he knew it was how I explained what he did to me, and as soon as he put a stop to it his secret would come out. 

But today I was done, I packed what was left of my clothes in my backpack, packed the photos of me with my family, my school stuff and everything else I needed or had, which wasnt much. I grabbed my sports bag and snuck down the stairs as quietly as possible.

I had been so focused on getting out I didn't account for Alyssa to still be awake, you see Lyss was always Mr Olsens (or House Master as we have to call him) favourite never got hurt, got three meals a day and never had to do any chores, so when she saw me trying to escape an evil smirk crossed her lips and a sadistic glint flashed through her eyes before she let out the shrillest scream I had ever heard. 

The House Master came pounding down the stairs and ran straight to Lyss and asked her what happened, she told him that I was trying to escape and that I had threatened to kill her if she told, she was scared so she called him to help her. He spun round and his eyes steeled as they landed on me. I gulped, I knew I had done it this time. He told Lyss to go to her room and that he would deal with me, with that Alyssa threw me one final victorious smirk as she left the room. 

The House Master stormed over to me and held me up against the wall by my throat, sneering as he edged his face closer and closer to mine "You ungrateful slut, after everything ive done for you, you try and pay me back by running away, i'll teach you a lesson..."

I could have fought back, and I did the first time his fist collided with my ribs I dont remember much after that, I remember snippets like the breaking of the glass as it collided with my ribs, the ringing in my ears after my head was thrown back against the wall, the feeling of something running down the inside of my thigh... the rest is just a blur of slurs and abuse, not that I would want to remember it anyway. Then I heard sirens and the bang of a door hittin* the cement and I finally fell into unconsciousness.  
Flashback over

".....ear me?" Eric said worry lacing his voice.

My head snapped over to where he was crouched down next to me with his hand on my shoulder studying my face. I wiped my face and fake smiled before speaking,

"Pardon?" I question.

"I said are you ok?" He repeated slowly so he knew I had understood. 

I just nodded and asked, "Why am I here?"

He let a small smile graze his lips even though it was clear he didn't believe me. He spoke gently to me, not like I was some fragile piece of glass about to break like all the doctors and nurses that had treated me just a few hours prior, but like a father, someone with genuine concern for my wellbeing, 

"Well, you remember you're parents were in the navy right?" He asked, I nodded confused as to why he was saying that, "And you remember that you're social worker was having trouble acessing you’re records?”


	4. Pt.4 Meeting CJ

Jason's POV  
Blackburn left 20 minutes ago to go and get the kid, I can only assume that he hadn't told her about what was going on and had to talk to her. Clay was bouncing his knee, which was beginning to piss me off, and Ray had his elbows on the desk and head in his hands. Trent and Brock were talking quietly and Sonny was petting Cerb. I sat looking off into space for I don't know how long just thinking about how we can make this kid feel comfortable around us and about what Eric said about her past.

I looked up when I heard the door open and saw Blackburn standing with his hand on the shoulder of a young girl..

Eric's POV  
I was waiting outside the bathroom for CJ, she had asked if she could go and put some makeup on to cover her bruises, I had said no at first but then relented when she said I want them to treat me like a normal teenager not a piece of glass about to break. I felt so bad for her, I wanted to know what I could do to help but I didn't think we were there yet. Then the door opened and she came out, I could tell she was wearing makeup but with the light of the cave and the fact she was wearing her hood up I doubt anyone would notice, but these operators werent anybody's, they were the best of the best, trained to pick up on the smallest details and that's what made me nervous.

CJ POV  
I looked down at my forearms and traced my fingers over the scars fighting the urge to cut again, fighting the urge to let that bastard I called the House Master win. He told me I was worthless, pathetic, useless, nothing. I couldn't resist any more and i grabbed my blade and dragged it across my arm a few times letting the blood drip into the sink, I stopped after 5 or 6 cuts and washed up the sink. I bandaged my arm and put my hoodie back on, wincing as I pulled it over my bruised shoulder. I grabbed my makeup and covered the injuries I had on my face. I combed my fingers through my hair and in a last ditch attempt to take some of the attention off of my face pulled up my hood to try and cover up the fact I had a wound on the back of my head. I took a deep breatn and walked out with my backpack slung over my shoulder. I walked out and Eric looked at me and I knew there was no going back now. He smiled at me and bent down to my level which was pretty low beacuse I was 4"8" and he was like 6"3" he put his hand on my shoulder and spoke gently, 

"You ready?" I couldn't trust myself to speak so I just nodded "Come on let's go." 

He straightened up and led me to what he called the 'cave', he turned and gave me a reassuring smile and opened the door. I took a deep breath and looked up and suddenly all eyes were on me. I didn't know what to do and the thought of being alone in a room with these men scared me to the point were I could feel myself on the edge of a panic attack, Eric noticed I had tensed and rubbed small circles on my shoulder with his thumb in an attempt to calm me down, and when he realised i wasn't going to speak up he did for me, 

"Guys this is CJ you're new Bravo 8."

Everbody smiled at me when the one with a heavy texan accent spoke up, "Why is she Bravo 8, shouldn't she be bravo 7?"

A dog gowled at him and a guy who I'm assuming is his handler spoke up with raised eybrows and a look that was almost daring him to disagree, "Cerberus is Bravo 7 Sonny." 

I giggled at that and the dog who I now know as Cerberus came up to me and nuzzled his face into my hand I flinched sharply but quickly straightened up thinking it had gone undetected, but when I looked back at the team they all had concern etched into their features, I took a deep breath waiting for the conversation I had been dreading the most...

Jason's POV  
She flinched, to say I was concerned was an understatement, she hadn't spoken once and I can only assume because it was because she was scared. I looked at my brothers and we all made a silent agreement to let it go for now as she looked like she was going to break down any second, but we would come back to it.

"I'm Jason Hayes, Bravo 1." I spoke gently but still with authority.

All the boys followed my lead and introduced themselves one after another, 

"I'm Ray Perry, Bravo 2."

"I'm Sonny Quinn, Bravo 3."

"I'm Trent Sawyer, Bravo 4 and the team medic."

"I'm Clay Smith, Bravo 6."

"I'm Brock Reynolds, Bravo 5, and this is Cerberus, Bravo 7."

She spoke up so quietly if we weren't waiting for her to speak we probably wouldn't have heard her, "I'm CJ."

Taking the lead again I stuck my hand out for her to shake and she took it gently, "Welcome to the team kid, it's great to have you here."

"It's nice to be here." She spoke a little louder this time but still quieter than I would have liked.

Just as I was about to say something else Mandy and Lisa walked in and introduced themselves to her, she seemed more comfortable with them here, it made me think about what she could have gone through to make her so scared of men, but I honestly didn't even know if I wanted to find out. She laughed at something Mandy said and it made me smile, I knew she was going to fit right in with us and that we had to protect her no matter what... Blackburn's voice brought me out of my thoughts when he clapped his hands together and spoke, 

"Right, I think it's time for me too take you to you're new home you've had a long day." He rested his hand on her shoulder and looked down at her.

Confused I spoke up, "Where is she going?"

He looked at me and answered, "She is going to be staying with a foster family about a half hour from here," I must have still looked confused because he continued, "None of us have foster licenses and they take about 6 months to be processed regardless of how much we argue she needs to be protected with her being a military asset, believe me I tried to get it put through faster but it didn't work, she's a minor so she can't live on base unless she's with her guardian, and technically we only have custody of her when she's in the field. Then even when she's in the compound she's not going to be able to walk around alone for her own safety one of us is going to have to be with her at all times." 

I saw fear flash through her eyes at the mention of a foster family and her breathing quickened, I looked to Blackburn but he was already knelt on the floor next to her, he was trying to calm her down and explain what was going on to us but he couldn't do both so he just looked at Trent and said, 

"She's having a panic attack."


	5. Pt.5 Panic attack

CJ POV  
When he said foster home I freaked, the room started to spin and my throat closed up. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't see, I couldn't think, all I could hear was this ringing in my ears and someone setting me on the floor. I reflexively pulled my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them, somebody's hand was rubbing my shoulder but I didn't have the energy to push it off. I was breathing but I couldn't get enough oxygen, I felt like I was going to be sick. Somebody went to grab my wrist and pull up my sleeve, but the thought of anybody seeing what I've done made me panic, so I snatched my hand away. 

Jason's POV  
I couldn't watch the kid we were supposed to be taking care of freak out like this, I felt this overwhelming urge to protect her come over me so I walked over and sat down behind her, I pulled her by her underarms to sit between my legs and I wrapped my arms around her and felt her stiffen but I ignored it. I began whispering that 'everything was going to be OK' and that 'she needed to breathe'. I felt her begin to relax in my arms and nodded at Trent who took that as his queue too speak,

"Hey kiddo, can you hear me?" She nodded weakly but made no attempt to calm down so he continued, "I need you to give me you're hand."

She hesitated and I whispered reassuringly in her ear, she shakily held out her wrist and Trent took it and took her pulse, his eyes widened and he shook his head at me, 

"Her heart rate is too high, if she keeps going like this she's gonna pass out," he then looked at her and his eyes softened, "Hey sweetheart, I need you to follow my breathing OK?"

She gave him a small nod and he took her hand and placed it on his chest, he told her too breathe in and out. Slowly but surely her breathing evened out and she became aware of her surroundings, I felt her tense in my arms and was about to let go when Trent shook his head, 

"I need to check her over, pick her up and sit down with her on your lap, it's the only way she's gonna stay still" he spoke in his 'do-a-I-say-or-next-time-you-get-shot-I-will-let-you-bleed-out-voice' so I knew he wasn't messing around.

I gave a hesitant nod and stood up picking her up bridal style and walked over to my chair, she was light, too light, I could easily say that I had carried gear heavier than her and that made me worry. Trent walked out too get his gear and the team stood looking like they wanted to help but didn't know how so I spoke up looking at Blackburn, who was still on the floor, dead in the eyes, 

"Everybody go talk with Blackburn in the cages about what happened, find out what that was get any more information you can," nobody moved so I rolled my eyes, "Now."

Everybody left with Blackburn just as Trent came back in with his stuff, 

"Hey sweetie, I need you to answer some questions for me OK?" 

I felt her stiffen in my arms so I shut that down quickly, 

"I don't think she's capable of talking right now Trent."

He gave an understanding nod and instead walked her through what he was going to do,

"So I'm going to put this on your arm and take your blood pressure ok?" She nodded and he did, "Are you on any medications that could cause low blood pressure?" 

She gave an almost inaudible 'yes', he looked like he was going to ask what they were but I shut him down with a look that said 'not-now' to which he gave a subtle nod and instead continued with his tests, he took her pulse and O2 levels no problem, they were within normal range for someone who had just had a panic attack. But then he took her blood sugar and his eyes widened in surprise,

"Darling look at me," she opened her eyes and looked to where he was crouched, "When was the last time you ate?" 

I felt her tense and I knew one of three things, 1) we weren't going to like the answer, 2) she was going to lie to us or 3) both which is what I was leaning towards.

CJ POV  
When he asked that I stiffened,

Flashback  
I was called down to dinner by the House Master, I knew I wasn't going to be allowed to eat anything I was going to be made to watch as everybody else ate as a punishment for being useless, worthless and fat, in the beginning I knew it wasn't true, I was tiny and athletic, but when it started to be not just him that said it and the people at school as well i started eating less and less. I ate only what I knew I could burn off and trained all the time, when I gained weight i would throw up and cut my self for being a failure. The only time I would eat was at school because we had free meals there, I never ate much only enough to get me through the day and practice as well as keep everone's concerns that I wasn't eating at bay.

I walked down the starirs and he shoved me agiainst the wall,

"You're going to watch us eat slut."

I nodded too afraid of what he would do to talk back.  
Flashback over

"....J? You Ok?" I snapped back to reality with somebody clicking their fingers in front of my face, I turned my head to see that I was sat on Jason's lap and Trent was clicking his fingers. 

"Y-yeah sorry..."

"No it's ok don't apologise kid, I asked when was the last time you ate because you're blood sugar is really low and you zoned out on us which made me concerned."

"U-uh a couple d-days ago..." I say quietly.

Trent's POV  
My jaw dropped, she was a growing teenager she needed to eat. This kind of behaviour could lead to serious eating disorders and health conditions, if it hadn't already. I looked at Jason but he wasn't looking at me, he was looking at her, he had the same fatherly love and worry in his eyes he does evertime he looks at Emma, I gave a faint smile and got up walking out of the room saying, 

"I'll be right back."

I walked to the cages were i knew everybody would be too go find Lisa and Mandy, I knew she probably would be more comfortable around women. I walk into the room and everybody has a stoic expression on their face as they look at Blackburn who is running his hands through his hair. I turn to look at Mandy and Lisa who share a knowing look but I ignore it because we have more important things to deal with. 

"Mandy, Lisa I need you too take the kid to get some food, she hasn't eaten in a few days and it's taking it's toll on her body, her blood sugar is way too low and I figured she wouldn't appreciate me jamming a needle into her arm. I also thought since she seems more comfortable around you guys than around us you could take her."

They nodded in agreement and we went back to the cave. We walked in and smiled at the sight infront of us, Jason had completely calmed CJ down and was currently running his hand through her auburn hair as she sat with her head in the crook of his neck and legs draped across his lap and over the arm of the chair, she looked so peacful when she was asleep and I could tell it was something she hadn't done in a while. He looked up at us expectantly and I spoke,

"CJ needs to eat so I figured I would send Mandy and Lisa with her because she's more comfortable around them, it would also give us a chance to talk to Blackburn."

He nodded and quietly woke her up, she stirred and looked at him like he just killed her puppy, I laughed at her antics and thought about how much she would fit in with the Sonny as he too was not a morning person. He tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and spoke gently, 

"Morning to you too sunshine," she hit pouted and hit his chest playfully, and he just laughed caught her wrist, "Mandy and Lisa are going to take you to get some food ok?"

She nodded groggily and got up off his lap and walked towards Lisa who had her arm reaching out for her. As soon as she got to where we were, Lisa put her arm around her shoulder and led her out of the room with Mandy following closely behind. I looked at Jason and we both walked towards the cages, it was time to get some answers.


	6. Pt.6 Answers

A/N: Clays surname has been changed to fit future themes for the story :)

Eric's POV  
We all walked to the cages and sat in silence, I knew I wasn't going to be able to avoid the questions about her history forever but I thought I would have a little more time, but then CJ had a panic attack and the truth needs to come out. I sit running my hands through my hair for about five minutes until the door opens and Trent comes in. He talks to Mandy and Lisa and they leave. A minutes later Jason and Trent walk in and the looks on their faces made me know it was time to face the music. I stood up and walked out to my office, I walked back into the cages and handed CJ's medical file to Trent, whom gladly accepted it eager to learn more about her medical history. I took a deep breath and started speaking,

"CJ's father was an Army ranger, her mother was part of Naval intelligence. She was working on tracking a growing terrorist organisation known only by their calling card, a red bow and arrow, she got too close and they put her, her husband and CJ on their hit list, one day James, her father, was on a mission in the Middle East and the group, who had been surveilling them for months took her mother out. CJ watched her mom die and couldn't do anything to stop it, they weren't living on base at the time but she didnt care, she just ran, she ran towards the compound where her father worked and sprinted in covered in blood, people on her fathers team who had stayed behind immediately started asking her questions, she couldn't handle it and passed out, she was diagnosed with PTSD, Depression, Anxiety and Insomnia in the weeks later."

Trent's POV  
I looked at him wondering what he was hiding because that didn't explain the flinching or the Panic Attacks, so I asked,

"That's not all of it is it?"

"No it's not," he paused, "She and her dad moved onto the base where he worked and she was set up with a new identity and new school, because she hadn't been living on base she didn't go to school there either so nobody knew who she was and her alias was believed. She trained with the rangers and learnt hand-to-hand combat as well as multiple languages and how to shoot. Her father died on an op a few months later and she was put into the system because of legal problems with her fathers will. She was put into some abusive homes and finally the orphanage, where she was living just before she was brought here. The place was owned by an abusive bastard who beat and starved her and the other children. However she had it the worst, daily beatings, verbal abuse, days where the only time she would eat was at school. The police were alerted 2 days ago when a neighbor heard shouting and called them. The hospital couldn't find her records because they were sealed so they ran her DNA. It came back as a hit on both her parents and then they alerted social services. Social services looked into the designated guardian for her and here we are, her father wanted her as a translator for the military for her own safety but knew she couldn't be with the rangers because it was too much of a risk so she was assigned here, before she made it here she got lost in the system with her alias. Her father had told her not to tell anybody it was an alias because she couldn't trust anyone. She didn't want me to tell you because she didn't want you to treat her like a piece of glass about to break, so I kept my word, but then she had a panic attack and I couldn't stay silent any longer."

Silence filled the air and I couldn't help but ask,

"You said hospital what are her injuries?"

He sighed, "Malnourishment, Exhaustion, split lip, blunt force trauma to the back of the head, bruised forehead, a few broken ribs, scars on her back and stomach, hand prints on her neck and bruises and scarring pretty much everywhere else."

"How did nobody notice..?"

"They probably did, but she plays Hockey, Rugby and Football so I'm assuming she used that as a cover up." He sighed.

I knew what was coming next but it still hurt,

"Regardless, she has to go to her new foster family tonight."

Everyone started yelling but Blackburn just held up his hand and opened his mouth to speak,

"We don't have a choice it's the law."

"Well have you at least vetted them?" Clay asked.

Blackburn ran his hand through his hair and I knew we weren't going to like this answer,

"I can't, I don't even have an address, I'm working on getting one but there are a lot of legal hoops to jump through as she's a minor and it's a safeguarding issue, my instructions were to bring her too her social worker and her social worker would take it from there."

Feelings the tension in the room I spoke up in an attempt to stop everybody from killing our CO.

"He's got a point guys, we have to do this right, if we don't she could get taken away from the unit and then we wouldn't be able to get any information at all, or at best our application for the foster license would be denied and she would bounce around for the next 4 years. Our best option is to wait it out until this 6 months is up we get the license and she can stay with us."

Everybody nodded and Blackburn got up to leave when I asked,

"Can I take a look at her, I mean she's on a lot of medication and her injuries could be more severe than they reported, plus I need to find out how she manages with pain so I can take care of her better in the field." 

He just nodded and motioned for me to follow him. We walked out and towards the cafeteria, it was about 6 in the evening and she should get going soon if she wants to get a good nights sleep and be ready for work tomorrow. 

We spotted them in the cafeteria and walked over, Blackburn spoke up first,

"Hey CJ, we are going to get you checked over by Trent and then we are going to get you too your social worker ok?" 

I saw panic flash in her eyes at the mention of me and her social worker so I crouched down behind her and lifted her chin too look at me, it was now I was up close and we were in a well lit area I saw she was clearly wearing makeup, 

"I'm not going to hurt you OK I just need to make sure your injuries aren't worse than what they reported, good?" 

She nodded in response so I stood up and held my hand out to her, which she took hesitantly, and helped her up. We walked to the cage room were my stuff was and I walked in first,

"Everybody clear out," 

I said it in my 'fuck-with-me-I-dare-you' voice so they knew I wasn't playing and made a shooing motion with my hands. Once everybody had cleared out I shut the door and led her to sit down in my cage, I examined her listened to her breathing above her shirt because I wanted her to be comfortable. I tested her blood sugar and sighed it was still low,

"Your blood sugar is low," She looked at me confused and I smiled, "It means I'm going to have to give you a glucose shot every morning for the next few days, whilst you're body gets used to having sugar again."

She nods and holds out her arm, although I can see it shaking, I take her head in my hands and look her in the eyes, "It's only going to hurt for a second I promise." 

She nods, I prep the needle and push it in, I see her bite her lip and I feel awful, I rub her arm soothingly and speak up after a minute,

"Let's get you to Blackburn."

She nodded weakly tears still present in the corner of her eyes and I walked to open the door where I knew everybody was waiting. 

"She's fine she's going to need glucose shots every morning for the next week or two until her blood sugar normalises, but other than that everything should heal."

Everybody nodded and diverted their gaze to the small form that had appeared by my side, she looked up at me weakly and said,

"Thank you."

I smiled and patted her shoulder, "That's what I'm here for sweetheart."

She nodded and walked over to Blackburn who was dressed in his civvies ready to drop her off with her social worker, I could see she was nervous by her trembling hands and all I wanted to do in that moment was protect her.

Blackburn grabbed her backpack and duffle bag off the floor and started walking, she gave us one last wave and left with him.


	7. Pt.7 Foster Family

CJ's POV  
Eric had dropped me off with my social worker 5 minutes ago, he said the family I was staying with lived about 15 minutes by car from base, but 45 ish by foot, so it was definitely within walking distance if I needed anything/ or couldn't get a ride to work. He gave me a small flip phone to be used in case of emergencies, it had the entire team's numbers in and it would activate a gps locator if I pressed the yellow button. Even if I was in trouble I probably wouldn't use it, it's not my thing to rely on people. I was left alone with my thoughts for about 5 minutes and was only pulled out by my door opening and my social worker telling me to get out of the car. I grabbed my backpack and gym bag and ran to catch up with him. He knocked on the door and looked at me he sighed,

"Look, don't mess this up ok, it was hard enough too find one family that would deal with your issues I don't think I would be able to find another."

I was about to respond when the door opened to reveal a man in black sweatpants and a grey hoodie and who I'm assuming to be his wife dressed in denim jeans and a plaid shirt. I had a bad feeling about this, but my social worker spoke quickly not giving me a chance to speak,

"Mr Max Travis and Mrs Bella Travis?" They nodded, "Wonderful! This is CJ, call if you have any questions or concerns and I will be back in a month to check on things."

Then he left as quickly as he had arrived, not even sparing me a glance, Asshole. I turned back and was about to introduce myself when Mr Travis threw the cigarette he was holding at my feet and spoke,

"Get inside."

My heart jumped to my throat and I knew that this wasn't going to end well. I walked in and they told me their rules  
-I am to be seen and not heard  
-I am not to speak unless spoken too  
-I am always to be on time for work and school and I am not to wake them in the mornings  
-I am to keep the house spotless  
-I am to eat one meal a day and that is it  
-I am to prepare their breakfast before I leave in the morning  
-I am to cook their dinner in the evening  
-I am never to complain as they gave me a roof and I don't deserve anything more  
-I am to keep my grades in school up when I go back  
-I am to adress them as Sir and Ma'am

I nodded after they had explained them, I did not feel like breaking any of these rules as I didn't want to know what the punishments would be, I stood and waited for them to tell me what to do, 

"Go to your room." Mrs Travis sneered shoving me in the direction of what could only be described as a closet, and that was generous.

The next day

I woke up to the alarm on my phone balring, and quickly turned it off so I didn't get in trouble. I gor a pair of leggings and a long sleve t-shirt out and tip-toed to the bathroom. I turned on the shower and washed off all the blood, I re-wrapped my ribs and changed the dressing on my thigh, then I looked at my wrists and rebandaged them as I had cut again last night. I walked down the stairs and into the kitchen and prepared them breakfast of pancakes for my 'parents' and snuck out of the house with my backpack slung over my shoulder. 

I walked onto base and immediately saw Jason standing looking at his phone by the entrance to the compound, they really were serious about me not being allowed on my own on base. I assumed he was waiting for me so I walked over, once I was about 20 feet away I said.

"Hey Jason."

He looked up and he harshly shoved his phone in his pocket and jogged over, he had concern etched into his face as he cupped my face in his hands and ran his fingers across the bruise on my forehead, 

"What the hell happened kid!?" 

I shoved his hands off my face and snapped, "It's fine Jason it doesn't hurt."

He didn't look impressed, Of course I had completely forgotten to cover up my face with makeup this morning and this had happened. I started to panic as if I'd said something wrong, maybe it was me calling him Jason, maybe it was because I spoke without being spoken to or maybe it was the fact that I snapped at him. I began to work up all these scenarios in my head I didn't even know I had begun to breath heavily and that my hands had started to shake. He crouched down in front of me and put one hand on my shoulder and let the other guide my hand to his chest,

"Princess, you gotta breathe with me ok? We don't need you to pass out." 

I nodded and calmed down after a few minutes. 

"Ok?" I gave a quiet 'yeah', he continued, "So back to my previous question, what happened to your face."

I took a deep breath and answered, "It was like this yesterday I just had makeup on to cover it."

He nodded and said "You sure you're ok?"

"Yes. Im fine. How many times do I have to say it." I snapped, sighing exasperated.

He raised his hands in the air in surrender and quickly pulled back, raising his eyebrows in shock, 

"Woah, kid, I'm sorry ok, didn't mean to make you upset, I just care about you, that's all."

The last part took me by surprise, 

"No don't apologise, it wasn't your fault, I shouldn't have snapped at you." I say the next part quietly, "Why do you care?"

He looked at me in shock and lowered his hands, "What do mean 'why do I care', of course I care, you are part of the team so your family now," he paused and gave me a small smile, "Plus you're pretty badass."

I tilted my head confusedly and he just laughed at my antics and threw his arm round my shoulder, we started walking towards the cages.

Jason's POV  
We started walking towards the cages and I couldn't help but think about what she had said, why was it so hard for her to believe that we cared about her? I was brought out of my thoughts by her poking my side, I looked down and smiled,

"What's up Princess."

She pouted at the nickname and I thought she looked adorable. I felt this overwhelming urge to protect her just like I did last night, I must have zoned out because she poked me again,

"What did you mean when you said I was 'pretty badass'?"

She looked like a confused puppy and I chuckled, 

"You'll see."

She poked me again and I sighed knowing she wasn't going to let this go, 

"Well, you were taught to shoot by the rangers which is pretty cool, you are trained in 17 forms of martial arts, you play Rugby, Football and Hockey, and you are super smart," she looked like she was about to argue so I cut her off, "We're here."

We walked into the cages and everbody was already there, I'm assuming they were waiting for us. Everbody gasped when they saw her face and Trent rushed forward to take a look. But before he could get to her she held out her hands and said,

"I'm fine, it was there yesterday, and it's already healing, I've done worse."

He still looked concerned but he dropped it and backed away towards his cage and asked,

"Did you eat this morning sweetheart?"

She bit the inside of her cheek and looked down at the floor. I sighed, I may not be as trained in the medical field as Trent but I knew what this could do. But before I could say anything Clay spoke up,

"Kid you've got to eat, you need the energy, not to mention you're severely underweight. I'm sure Jason will take you to the canteen soon but first I think Trent has to test your blood sugar," I looked to Trent, "Am I right?"

He nodded and she groaned and shivered at the thought of a glucose shot, he smiled sympathetically,

"I know kiddo but it'll only hurt for a second ok."

She nodded weakly and I led her to sit down in my cage. I sat behind her and wrapped my arms round her waist whilst Trent crouched down on the floor infront of her. He took her blood sugar and his eyebrows shot up,

"That's dangerously low, combined with her weight and her injuries, she definitely needs a glucose shot."

He went to roll up her sleeve but she shook her head. I looked at her confused and so did he. He spoke, 

"I've got to roll up your sleeve to give you the injection sweetie."

I felt her tense in my arms and she violently shook her head, this caught everybody's attention. I felt her breathing quicken and she started to fight against me. I looked to Trent and he spoke,

"CJ can you hear me?"

She didn't say or do anything she just kept thrashing around in my arms, he spoke quickly,

"Clay come grab her legs, Jason take her arms, lay her down and hold her there, she's going to hurt herself."

I picked her up and Clay grabbed her legs, we pinned her down but she was still thrashing around. Trent ran his hand down his and grabbed something from his bag, I recognised it as a sedative,

"Trent, are you sure that's safe."

"It is, we need to get her to calm down, the fighting is draining what energy she has left and at least this will let me look at her injuries and give her the glucose shot without resistance. Plus if she didn't want me to see her arms for the reason I think, she's going to need to be out whilst I look."


	8. Pt.8 Self Harm

Third person POV   
Jason gave a hesitant nod and he pulled the shoulder of her shirt down and stuck the needle into her upper arm. She almost immediately went limp in their arms, both Clay and Jason looked at Trent asking for permission to let go, he nodded and they loosened their grip and climbed off the bed. Trent stood up and readjusted her on the bed, to everybody's surprise Ray walked over and sat down setting her head in his lap. He looked like he did when he was taking care of Jameelah, it was clear he felt the same Jason did when he was around her, like they needed to protect her. Trent gave her the glucose shot and lifted up the hem of her shirt. He carefully unwrapped the bandages round her ribs and pressed down, he nodded to himself and wrote something down in his notebook. Then, with the help of Ray, he picked her up and re-wrapped her ribs. He took a deep breath and looked at Jason for confirmation on what he was about to do, they had a theory but they didn't want it to be true, he gave a hesitant nod and Trent went to work. He rolled up her sleeves and their worst fear was confirmed. She had bandages on her forearms, there was fresh blood peeking through. Trent sighed and took it off the bandages revealing new and old cuts, Clay spoke up,

"How long..?"

"The oldest look as far back as about 2 years, the newest no earlier than yesterday."

Sonny spoke, "So since she was put into the system."

"Yeah, about then I guess, it's probable with everything she went through she used it as a coping mechanism that helped her deal with her depression, PTSD, anxiety, and all of her negative emotions. With moving around so much I doubt anyone noticed what she was going through." Trent sighed and looked at them, "can someone grab a shirt, this ones sleeves are covered in blood."

Ray spoke, "There's a shirt hanging up in my cage, it's clean."

Sonny nodded and walked off to get it. Trent sighed and pulled his hand down his face. Brock who had been silent the whole time finally spoke up,

"What do we do now? We can't pretend like we know nothing and do nothing, but if we talk to her she's more likely to block us out because we broke her trust."

"We don't have a choice but to talk to her, quite frankly we need her on the team and we can help her through this by building trust and letting her talk to us when she needs to without passing judgement."

Everybody nodded in agreement. Trent and Ray worked together to get her shirt changed and the others got comfortable waiting for the sedation to wear off.

Clay's POV   
I know a thing or two about difficult childhoods, I was abandoned by my father at the age of 2. I was put through the foster system for longer than her but still understand what she went through. 

Flashback  
I walked through the front door of the orphanage and was met with an overwhelming smell of disinfectant and cleaning products, like they were trying to bleach away something terrible that had happened, I sighed to myself, who am I kidding that was exactly what they were trying to do. I knew because I was the reason it smelt like this. I was late home yesterday and I paid the price. 

The home had always been abusive, there was no way around that. But some kids had it alot worse than others. Like me for instance, I would go days on end without food because I was 'not worth it'. I was abused in every sense of the word, from verbal assaults to being physically injured, and there was no way to stop it. 

I tried to sneak up the stairs to my 'room' but I was quickly yanked down by my hood, I gulped as i looked up at matron, she had clearly been drinking. Her beatings were always worse when she was drunk. She slammed her foot into my ribs and I cried out in pain, she stopped and a sickly smile covered her face. I knew I had done it right then, her one rule was that we took her beastings without complaint. Before I had time to react she grabbed my hoodie and pulled me up dragging me to her office. She roughly yanked off my hoodie and t-shirt and chained my wrists to the closet ceiling. She took off her belt and started to harshly hit my back over and over until I bled. Then she closed the door and I just hung limp, I couldn't move, my arms were starting to burn and my feet didn't touch the floor, I knew I was in for a long night.  
Flashback over

I looked down at her, chest slowly rising and falling, Ray was running his fingers through her auburn hair and Trent was taking her vitals every 5 minutes looking for an indicator of when she would wake up, clearly tired of the silence Jason spoke,

"How long till she wakes up."

"I dont know." Trent replied.

"You dont know?!" He exclaimed shocked.

"No Jason I don't know, it could be anywhere from 5 minutes to 2 hours, paediatric medicine is a whole different ballgame that I'm not very experienced in. But even though I hate what she's going through and I would trade anything for it to stop and disappear, I'm glad it's happening here, so I can see how all these meds affect her body in a controlled environment and I'll know what to give her in the field if anything like this happens."

Ray spoke up quietly, "Hey guys I think she's waking up."

All of our attention turned to the figure on Jason's bunk.

CJ's POV   
I woke up and my head was laying on something soft, I felt somebody's fingers running through my hair and I relaxed. Then all the memories came back hitting me like a freight train. I had freaked out in front of my new team, I felt my brathing quicken and I shot up. Everybody was looking at me and I looked down. I was wearing a different shirt and my bandages were exposed. Did they know? I gulped and looked down at the floor before somebody took my face in their hands and turned it too look at them. I kept my eyes trained on the floor because I couldn't face them right now,

"Sweetheart, look at me." 

I took a shaky breath and looked up, it was Trent. His face was that of a concerned father and that made me nauseous. 

"Why?"

I couldn't do this I shoved him back and he lost his balance, I jumped up and made a run for the door but I felt a pair of strong arms wrap around my waist and lift me up into the air. I started squirming in their grip,

"CJ," I gulped they used my full name, "we need too talk about this, but first we need you to calm down."

I nodded and he loosened his grip.


End file.
